Childhood maltreatment is a major public health issue worldwide. It increases a range of health-risk behaviors, psychological and physical problems, which are associated with an increased need for mental health services in adulthood. Identification of mediating factors in the relationship between maltreatment and seeking mental health care may help attenuate the negative consequences of childhood maltreatment and promote more appropriate treatment. This study aims to examine whether the relationship between childhood maltreatment and perceived need for mental health care is mediated by psychological distress and/or moderated by social support. Data from the Canadian Community Health Survey-Mental Health 2012 are analyzed. A total of 8,993 participants, who had complete information on childhood maltreatment and diagnoses of mental disorders or psychological distress, are included in this study. Structural equation modeling and the PROCESS macro were used to identify relationships among childhood maltreatment, perceived needs for mental health care, and psychological distress. Hierarchical linear regression was then used to verify the moderated mediation model. We found that psychological distress partially mediated the effect of childhood maltreatment on perceived needs for mental health care in adulthood. Social support played an important role in terms of moderating the relationship between maltreatment and perceived needs for care. For those with a history of childhood maltreatment, those who perceived a low level of social support were more likely to have higher levels of psychological distress and perceived need for mental health care. This is the first study to identify the separate and combined roles of psychological distress and social support in the relationship between childhood maltreatment and perceived need for mental health care. Selective prevention strategies should focus on social support to improve mental health services among people with a history of childhood maltreatment.

儿童虐待是世界范围内的一个重大公共卫生问题。它增加了一系列健康风险行为、心理和身体问题，这些问题与成年期对心理健康服务的需求增加有关。确定虐待与寻求心理保健之间关系的中介因素可能有助于减轻儿童虐待的负面后果并促进更适当的治疗。本研究旨在检验童年虐待与感知到的心理保健需求之间的关系是否由心理困扰和/或社会支持调节。分析了 2012 年加拿大社区健康调查 - 心理健康的数据。共有 8,993 名参与者，本研究纳入了有关儿童虐待和精神障碍或心理困扰诊断的完整信息的人。结构方程模型和 PROCESS 宏被用来确定童年虐待、心理保健感知需求和心理困扰之间的关系。然后使用分层线性回归来验证调节的中介模型。我们发现心理困扰在一定程度上介导了童年虐待对成年后心理保健感知需求的影响。社会支持在缓和虐待与感知的护理需求之间的关系方面发挥了重要作用。对于那些有童年虐待史的人，那些认为社会支持水平低的人更有可能有更高水平的心理困扰和对心理保健的感知需求。这是第一项确定心理困扰和社会支持在儿童虐待与心理健康护理需求之间的关系中的单独和综合作用的研究。选择性预防策略应侧重于社会支持，以改善有儿童虐待史的人的心理健康服务。